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AlegreFe
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Exclusive Interview: Three Bishops refute flawed theology of Fr. Andrew Greeley
Which "Catholic authors" do you think we need to steer clear of?
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Karin
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thank you…it really is a shame as I did enjoy his books
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Contarini
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Pius_X
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First off, his books are not pornographic as the interview claims. Not all sex is pornographic, and anyway, it is not even that bad. He uses it as a sign of God’s love.
It also says “Aging hippy whos actions are not consistant with the orfained priesthood.”
Who is to judge him? The name calling and quick judgement really shows more of the character of the article’s author than Father Greeley’s.
Again, they call him names, after the quote frm Greeley. Where does Father Greeley state that voting pro choice is ok? He does not. He states that we do not have to vote on one issue.
As to Bishop Bruskewitz’s statement (“No Catholics of any sense will take any pastoral advice from Father Andrew Greeley, a superficial writer who appears to spend his time promoting himself to various elements in the secular media.)
Again, they first felt the need to attack Father Greeley, before getting around to the argument.
A very biased article.
It also says “Aging hippy whos actions are not consistant with the orfained priesthood.”
Who is to judge him? The name calling and quick judgement really shows more of the character of the article’s author than Father Greeley’s.
Again, they call him names, after the quote frm Greeley. Where does Father Greeley state that voting pro choice is ok? He does not. He states that we do not have to vote on one issue.
As to Bishop Bruskewitz’s statement (“No Catholics of any sense will take any pastoral advice from Father Andrew Greeley, a superficial writer who appears to spend his time promoting himself to various elements in the secular media.)
Again, they first felt the need to attack Father Greeley, before getting around to the argument.
A very biased article.
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skuld
Guest
I don’t know what “casuists” are, and I’m not sure if this is what the original poster had in mind, but I think he/she meant that a book shouldn’t be avoided on account of the author’s personal beliefs. Reading a book by a feminist wouldn’t turn me into a feminist, just as reading a book by a Satanist wouldn’t turn me into a Satanist. God gave us the power to think for ourselves. Just because we read something that is against our beliefs doesn’t mean we automatically accepts it. It also wouldn’t hurt to know what people who do not share our values write about.
If you had any idea of the staggering number of books out there, books produced by polished casuists on every conceivable subject that are quite deliberately designed to poison your mind, you wouldn’t say things like that.
That being said, I don’t doubt that there are a lot of books that are not worth reading. For example, The Lovely Bones starts out okay, but it becomes insanely pointless after the murderer dies. I also never like books by Nicholas Sparks. He is not a Catholic, but he is a Christian. Most of his books are trite and manipulative, and should therefore be avoided.
I’m not too sure about the religious background of the following authors, but they also should be avoided because they write terrible books:
- Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which is an exceptionally pointless and terrible book)
- Mitch Albom (another manipulative writer who tries to be inspiring when he’s simply stating the obvious)
- Frank MacCourt (whine, whine, whine; he’s definitely Catholic, by the way)
- Gregory Maguire (writes spin-offs of well-known fairy tales, which results in multiple dull books with predictable endings)
Many books published today are so horrendous from a literary standpoint that when I find a well-written book I get all excited and would recommend it to anyone. I’m sure The Count of Monte Cristo contains some “questionable” episodes, but it is one fine book as a whole. Definitely worth reading.
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Michael_C
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I just purchased this book. It was recommended to me by a preist. I was surprised when I asked for help finding it at the book store, the woman told me it was for young readers 9 - 12 years old.
I bought it anyway - I figured my spiritual director recommended it for a reason.
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johnnycatholic
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I am one day going to write a book called “Why Gary Wills is not a Catholic”.
Our former Catholic bookstore stocked “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamante. My wife read that when she was wiccan. It was highly recommended by a fellow wiccan. Apparently the bookstore owner was stocking it because some fruity nuns in town were reading it for their book club. Try to act surprised.
Our former Catholic bookstore stocked “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamante. My wife read that when she was wiccan. It was highly recommended by a fellow wiccan. Apparently the bookstore owner was stocking it because some fruity nuns in town were reading it for their book club. Try to act surprised.
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Karen1996
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I believe Nicholas Sparks is Catholic. He states he is in his autobiography/travel memoir, Three Weeks With My Brother, written with his brother, Micah Sparks. But I agree with you on his books. They’re so predictable.
And The Time Traveler’s Wife…gag! It was so horrible, I threw it away.
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Shoshana
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OldAgeGuru
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(sometimes translated as The Posessed)?Rach620;1791282 said:Definitely fiction as it ought to be–in its beauty, we can glimpse the beauty of He who is every word (and the Word’s!) Author.
Dostoevsky a nihilist? You have badly misread him. Did you read *The Demons *
Or perhaps I misunderstood you.
Edwin
You misread both of them… the quote above wasn’t me
The second one was more of the nightmares of plugging thru those overworded blah blah blahs and trying to analyze it while taking 4 other classes. Mother of Mercy Dostoevsky put me to sleep. Hard to write papers and read other things when your knee deep into a Russian writer coma.
Right now, I’m up to my eyeballs in textbooks and research items. Hence my choice of escapism… I mean when you’re reading books in which it is quite possible that the Oxford English Dictionary is sponsoring, or at least getting paid by the syllable, reading some fluff is a nice change of pace on break.
Truth be told, I just go to Barnes and Nobles and see what’s a best seller. If the cover is pink, I’m sold
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MichaelTDoyle
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St. Francis de Sales wrote “An Introduction to the Devout life” Really, it reads like a genius decided to write a real self help book. If you are Catholic and pragmatic, this is a must read. I read bits and pieces while I am dining out or waiting in my car somewhere.well they are not fiction either…If I want to read a biography I guess I could read about one of the Saints…but biographys and history do not interest me
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Karin
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Oh thank you…this sounds great…
tomorrow it is off to the bookstore!
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Contarini
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I’m not sure the books are pornographic (that’s a matter of definition), but the attitude to sex is too gushy for my taste. Generally Greeley is best as a satirist or a sympathetic chronicler of human weakness–when he writes about things he admires (which includes sex, though that doesn’t mean he is getting any–in fact I think the starry-eyed way he writes about it is probably a testimony to his chastity) he goes over the top.
For my money, Greeley and Ralph McInerny are more or less on a level as novelists (I’m speaking in a literary sense). If anything, McInerny is better (in the sense of being more professional with fewer weaknesses), but Greeley is more interesting. Both have a problem with getting on the soapbox, though they are different soapboxes.
Edwin
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Maratom
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Catholic Author Dean Koontz and St. Odd
catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=23300
catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=23300
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